The sport of Cricket is known as the gentleman’s game. Started by the English aristocrats, the match of cricket features two different teams of 11 players who are supposed to play the game in a dignified and honest manner.
Owing to its integrity and sportsmanship, the sport of cricket is privileged to relish some of the rich and glittering memoirs of the game. However, in the last few years, it has been seen that the sport has gone through several scandals that have tested its integrity and honesty towards noble sportsmanship. With a lot of many scandals coming in the limelight, the sport and its sportspersons have taken the repo of this gentleman’s game to a new low.
Scandals ranging from match-fixing, ball-tampering, and drug scandal to verbal scuffle on the pitch have made newspapers’ headlines from time to time.
In order to throw some light over such a crisis in the world of Cricket, we have tried to enlist Top 10 Biggest Cricket Scandals in the World.
Let’s start it with ’80s.
Yes, scandals happened in the ’80s as well. It’s quite amazing.
1. The Underarm Ball (1981)
It was a World Cup Series. Australia and New Zealand were competing against each other. The team with black caps needed six runs in the last ball, but unfortunately, with some odd strategies, it didn’t happen.
Greg Chappell, captain of the Australian cricket team, asked his brother Trevor to bowl the last ball underarm. The ICC did not prohibit underarm bowling till that day.
After this, the rules were changed, and it was said against the game spirit.
And after this incident, underarm bowling was prohibited from the cricket matches.
2. Hansie Cronje Match-Fixing (2000)
Hansie Cronje, captain of the South African team, was involved in match-fixing. The match was against England. Though Hansie Cronje can make it to without doing this still, he chose this step. He was involved with a bookie to fix the match.
3. England Boycotts World Cup (2003)
The 2003 World Cup was organized in South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Kenya. But there were concerns about the safety of the players in Zimbabwe and Kenya. Human Rights violations in Zimbabwe were accurately stated. England boycotted their game in the country, and this decision costed them as they were knocked out.
Besides, fears over security in Kenya led New Zealand to penalty their game, which gave the Black Caps points and helped Kenya enter the semifinals for the very first time.
4. Ball-Tampering Allegations on Pakistan (2006)
It was the fourth test match between England and Pakistan. And Pakistani fielders were blamed for ball-tampering. The England team was given five penalty runs. The umpires immediately checked and replaced the ball and warned the group.
Just after the tea break, the Pakistani team didn’t come to play and refused, and ultimately, after the whole issue, the match was awarded to the England team as Pakistan refused to play.
5. Bob Woolmer’s Death (2007)
Bob Woolmer was the coach of the Pakistani cricket team. Pakistan was knocked out of the Cricket World Cup 2007 in the initial stage. And just after this, Bob Woolmer was found dead in his hotel room.
Police immediately started the investigation, and one report stated that he had died of asphyxiation through strangulation.
Another report stated that he might die because of a heart attack. It is still in doubt and not cleared yet.
6. The Sydney Test Match (2008)
India and Australia played the match. The all-rounder Andrew Symonds accused Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh to use racist terms against him.
Harbhajan Singh was banned for three matches and was later presented in an ICC hearing.
7. Terror Attack in Pakistan (2009)
In March, the Sri Lankan team faced a terror attack on their bus when they were traveling from hotel to Gaddafi Stadium.
After this terrorist attack immediately, the Lahore test match was canceled, and the team was directly taken to the safe airbase.
8. Pakistan Spot-Fixing (2010)
Three Pakistan players – Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Asif and Salman Butt – were engaged in spot-fixing in a Test match against England. After a sting operation conducted by the News of the World, the three were found to have conspired to bowl no-balls during the Test match deliberately.
9. Indian Premier League Spot-Fixing (2013)
The Indian Premier League 2013 spot-fixing and betting case came in the light when the Delhi Police arrested three cricketers, Sreesanth, Ankeet Chavan, and Ajit Chandila in the charges of alleged spot-fixing. All of them represented the Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League 2013.
In July 2015, Sreesanth, Chavan, and Chandila were cleared of all the charges after they were found innocent by the Patiala House Courts.
10. Sandpaper Gate (2018)
In March, the Australian cricket team was engaged in a ball-tampering scandal after and during the third test match in opposition to South Africa in Cape Town when Cameron Bancroft was captured by television cameras trying to rough one side of the ball with sandpaper to make it swing in flight.
So these were some of the biggest scandals that happened in the cricket world across the globe. We hope no more coming this year. The game should remain a sport and not a cheating platform.
Disclaimer:
The information contained in this article is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as a health advice. We would ask you to consult a qualified professional or medical expert to gain additional knowledge before you choose to consume any product or perform any exercise.
